Club 80-90 Forums

Hi i went to my local tyre fitters today regarding tyres for my van.
I told they guy that i wanted commercial van tyres as advised by you guys on my last thread.
He said he had some reinforced tyres that would be ok to go on my van at a good price.

Are reinforced tyres ok for my van or is he pulling my plonker?

Can you guys advise me on this as i was hoping to get some next week as my tyres are near the legal limit now.

Thanks.

john

THe standard size tyres are 185X14C the C being commercial--I think this size tyre is only available in van tyres nowadays, anyway, should say 8 ply rating on the tyres---if you look at the tyre before it is fitted it should be alot heavier than a car tyre--

You can tell if they're van tyres very easily - as said previously they will be 14C not just 14 and also they should have 8 ply written on the sidewall.

With those two pieces of information on the sidewall it would be highly unlikely that they wouldn't be right.

What's a 'good price' ?

185R14Cs.....reinforced.....commercial....it's simple really

but yes VW also fitted 205/70R14s which weren't commercial rated only reinforced on Caravelles, the heaviest people carriers...as long as the load rating is ok they are fine...about 100 up

what's he offering ?

Hi dridgy, I remember your previous post regarding tyres. There is somebody who has answered previous posts about tyres & they said something about car tyres being 4 ply & van tyres being 8 ply. I think that this is to do with the layers that make up the tyre & the resulting strength which is mainly in the sidewall.
Ultimately it will all boil down to the weight rating of the tyre(s). The tyre
fitter who said that you need reinforced tyres is right - but all tyres are reinforced with a steel belt layer. Some of the bigger national tyre
companies talk utter bilge at times, it just depends which particular branch you go to.
I think that I would trust a smaller business more but really you need to someone local to you who has had dealings with a (hopefully) reputable
tyre depot/garage.

I had reinforced on the front of mine when i first got it and having no power steering found the steering very heavy having replaced them with comercial rated tyres the stearing is much easier.

well the garage i went to is a small independent tyre fitter.

i asked him if he had some commercial van tyres to fit my van.
he said it would be hard to get 195/14 van tyres as it was a bugger of a size to get.

but he said he had some reinforced tyres that would be ok to go on my van at a good price, i said are they as strong as commercial van tyres and be able to take the load, he said yes?

so im not sure whether to get these or to go elsewhere and get some van tyres.

dridgy wrote:well the garage i went to is a small independent tyre fitter.

i asked him if he had some commercial van tyres to fit my van.
he said it would be hard to get 195/14 van tyres as it was a bugger of a size to get.

but he said he had some reinforced tyres that would be ok to go on my van at a good price, i said are they as strong as commercial van tyres and be able to take the load, he said yes?

so im not sure whether to get these or to go elsewhere and get some van tyres.

The load rating of the reinforced exceeds requirements, there are car tyres that meet the load rating of a t25.

so?

shall i get them or just go for van tyres?

WHAT WOULD YOU GUYS DO?

Personally I would go for van tyres.

Then of course there is a choice of budget/mid-price/premium tyres.
I would probably choose decent mid-price tyres having first looked at
the wiki to find out the good/bad tyres to choose from.

dridgy wrote:so?

shall i get them or just go for van tyres?

WHAT WOULD YOU GUYS DO?

I run car tyres which have the correct load rating. T25's do not need van tyres, reinforced is fine.

Bowton Lad wrote:- but all tyres are reinforced with a steel belt layer.

No.. the steel belt is standard in radial constuction (two plies of cross hatched steel wire), reinforcement for vans comes from extra plies on the sidewall as this is where all the forces are exerted, and where most of the heat is generated, together with heavier ,stiffer rubber at the join with the steel bead to absorb heat and cope with the lateral forces on the rim. aswell as extra cushioning rubber at the sidewall join with the tread, again to absorb and dissapate heat.

Bowton Lad wrote:- Some of the bigger national tyre companies talk utter bilge at times,.

The tyre comany I worked for never talked "bilge" especialy where public safety is concerned.
Load ratings are there for you, and your safety.
VW require that OE tyres fitted to their vans perform to cast iron values. thats why insurance companies get jittery when you modify these values

I'd like to add that tyres and their load ratings are there for a reason ..not to be ignored, but to keep you from being at the very worst killed

well he said i could have them for 45 quid fitted and balanced.
This is for 195 / 14s.
I would like to keep the 195 size as they look good on my wheels.

but i have been looking on ebay and theres a place that are selling brand new AVON A4 VAN TYRES 195/14 for 45 quid plus 6 quid postage.

but then i would have to get them fitted, but thats no big deal.

so should i go for the AVON A4s ?

Sorry about this guys its just its a lot of money for me to spend and i want to make the right choice and not regret it later, thats why i value your help.

thanks
john.

to keep 195, you are better off at £45 fitted and balanced, than paying more for postage and then sorting out postage as well! if there is a costco near you have a look there! they really know what they are talking about and will only fit something that will retain the correct rating for your van!!

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